The invention relates to a coating device for coating a metal band in a melted mass of a metal.
Coating devices are used for coating metal bands and sheets with zinc, aluminum, tin, lead, galvalum or galfan. In doing so, the metal band or sheet is drawn through a several hundred degrees Celsius hot melted metal mass of the coating metal: The metal band continuously dips downward into the melted metal mass, is deflected upward by a rotating shaft in the melted metal mass, steadied by a stabilizing shaft and travels upward out of the melted metal mass again. The bearing of the deflecting shaft and/or the stabilizing shaft in the melted mass is effected in open slide bearings that are designed as wearing bearings. Each of the slide bearings is formed by a bearing housing and a non-closed integral bearing shell held therein, with a single pair of bearing surfaces. With high radial loads of the deflecting and stabilizing shafts, respectively, the two bearing surfaces are spread by the shaft journal. In case of strong radial forces, bending forces may occur between the two rigidly interconnected bearing surfaces which are so high that the bearing shell breaks in this area. After the bearing shell has broken, it has to be exchanged. The exchange of the bearing shell takes up several hours, which represents a considerable damage with coating plants having a value of up to 200 million DM.
Therefore, it is the object of the invention to avoid a break of the bearing shell even with high radial loads.